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Over the course of 4 years, Instagram has become the most popular social media app in the world. We use the app to happily share our lives and promote our endeavors through pictures. In addition, as the transition from white border pictures to square ones becomes a trend, there is no doubt that we are greatly influenced by the people we follow.
As an Instagram-user, I always find myself scrolling through various accounts and seeing what they are up to. I can guarantee you that what once started as looking at my friend’s Instagram led to scrolling through her cousin’s best friend’s older sister’s account. The possibilities are quite endless. So with that in mind, what one person would call “stalking”, I call “finding hidden treasures” because that is how I found the wonderful community of contemporary poets.
Ever since our poetry unit in grade 3, I have been intrigued by the beautiful ebb and flow of words you can read from the likes of Roald Dahl, Robert Frost, and Edgar Allan Poe. In modern times, it’s interesting to see how our peers take on poetry and make it their own. From the Instagram accounts I’ve seen, poets like to keep their work looking vintage by using typewriters or handwriting it on scraps of paper. It blows my mind that while all poets are unique, they hold a collective mindset of simplicity.
Although typewriting and handwriting stanzas upon stanzas of poetry may get tedious, it definitely pays off! Some of the poets I mention have gained popularity solely through their fan base on Instagram. From this recognition, they have gone to publish their own books or work in big-time newspapers or magazines. This goes to show that words leave imprints on human beings. We can find ourselves relating to all kinds of poetry if we set aside time to stop scrolling and just read.
1. Tony Ciampa – @emolabs
This former Northeastern University student has been recognized by Buzzfeed and had one of his pictures purchased by Banana Republic!
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2. @WRDSMTH
Although his name is unknown, WRDSMTH’s street art is prominent in Los Angeles. It’s very likely you’d see the iconic typewriter on a day out!
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3. Robert M. Drake – @rmdrk
With over 1 million followers, R. M. Drake is an Instagram household name who quit his job to become a full-time poet. His work has been recognized by celebrities like Sophia Bush, Kylie Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and Shay Mitchell!
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4. Beau Taplin – @beautaplin
This 26-year-old resides in Melbourne, Australia and has self-published 5 poetry books!
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5. Lang Leav – @langleav
If you’ve been to Chapters in the last 2 years, you probably walked by a Lang Leav book without even knowing! Both her books, Love & Misadventure and Lullabies, are popular all over the world!
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6. Tyler Knott Gregson – @tylerknott
Tyler Knott was the first poet I discovered on Instagram about a year ago and I still follow his work to this day. He recently published his first book, Chasers of the Light: Poems from the Typewriter Series, which is available at Chapters and Anthropologie! Aside from being a poet, he also co-owns a photography business.
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“Poetry is the shadow cast by our streetlight imaginations.” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Best wishes,
Kandace 🙂
All of these lists have the same writers…there are a lot of other writers who are actually better up and coming. I think you bloggers need to dig a little deeper.
Thanks for your opinion! When this post came out, I was just getting into Instagram poets, so these more well-known writers were the ones I discovered first (and wrote about).
Please check my poetry. @aayushwrites